Pope Formosus

Pope Formosus (816-4 April 896) was the Pope from 891 to 896, succeeding Pope Stephen V and preceding Pope Boniface VI.

Biography
Formosus was born in 816 AD in Ostia, Papal States, and he was made the Cardinal-Bishop of Portus in 864 AD. In 872 he hoped to be pope, but he later left Rome due to political complications, and Pope John VIII condemned him. In 883 Pope Marinus restored him to his title, and after the death of Pope Stephen V in 891 he was consecrated as pope unanimously. When Emperor Basil the Macedonian of the Byzantine Empire's son Stephen I of Constantinople seized power from Photius I of Constantinople, Formosus refused to reinstate those who were ordained by Photius. During the dispute between Count Odo of Paris and Charles the Simple for the crown of West Francia, Formosus sided with Charles the Simple. Formosus himself was threatened by Emperor Guy III of Spoleto of the Holy Roman Empire, who forced Formosus to crown his son Lambert as Lambert II of Spoleto. Formosus asked Arnulf of Carinthia to reclaim Rome from the Italians under Lambert, and on 21 February 895 Arnulf seized Rome. Formosus crowned him as the new Holy Roman Emperor, and Formosus died in 896 AD.